Warblade

"This is... Black Jade Stone!?" Kolan was stunned.

With a thought, a piece of Black Jade Stone appeared in Kolan's hand.

Black Jade Stone was not found in the Material Plane. It came from another plane, and it was so hard that even an ordinary god would struggle to destroy it.

Black Jade Stone was extremely precious. Even a palm-sized piece was more valuable than a Saint-level Magic Beast Core, because it could be used to forge divine artifacts.

The sword Kolan had used before was already ruined. And that sword had belonged to a Saint-level expert.

That was because it hadn't been reinforced with any Black Jade Stone.

Kolan already had three divine artifacts, but that didn't mean he didn't want more.

He had even thought about forging divine artifacts suited to him.

The sword and the blade didn't quite fit Kolan's habits.

But now, with such a large piece of Black Jade Stone, he had more than enough to forge not just one divine artifact, but ten.

After putting the Black Jade Stone into his Space Ring, Kolan inspected the bottles and jars.

Some contained poison gas capable of killing a Saint-level expert; others held Soul Venom that could severely injure one.

Then there was a notebook. It belonged to the Undead Saint Magus.

Glint... The Yulan Calendar says 588. That was more than four thousand years ago! No wonder I'd never heard of him, Kolan thought.

After transferring everything to his own Space Ring, Kolan entered the third level.

The third level was a world of dense jungle, full of thick foliage and thorns.

Even the core region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range couldn't compare.

It was easy to be ambushed in a place like this.

Wearing divine armor and carrying his sword, Kolan explored the jungle.

A place like this was dangerous for other people, but not for Kolan.

His cultivation in the Life Law had already reached a profound level. He felt he was not far from becoming a god.

In this jungle world, he was as comfortable as a fish in water.

He could sense every living thing around him.

The little green snakes lying in wait to ambush him never got the chance.

Every living creature in this jungle world had reached the Saint Realm, and there were countless magic beasts.

Many of their species had never even been seen on the Yulan Continent.

Some of the plant life was terrifying as well.

For example, there was a Saint-level Man-eating Flower that an ordinary Saint-level expert couldn't distinguish from its surroundings. Without being on guard, anyone who approached would be swallowed whole.

Plant life was rare on the Yulan Continent, but it was common in this jungle world.

Even the vines were alive.

Beirut told everyone to be careful and said they could still stay alive. At this rate, one or even two out of every ten Saint-level experts who entered would die, Kolan sneered inwardly.

Anyone who believed Beirut wouldn't even know what killed them.

In a place like this, even a Saint-level magic beast could hardly guarantee its own survival, let alone a human Saint-level expert.

Danger lurked everywhere. There wasn't a single safe place.

Take the undead world on the second level. If Kolan hadn't killed the Undead Saint Magus, then faced with so many Saint-level Undead Lifeforms and an army of over a million undead, even a somewhat weaker Saint-level expert would likely have been killed.

As for this jungle world, even a Saint-level expert at the limits of their strength could perish here with one careless mistake.

Kolan reached the central region of the jungle world. This was where the passage to the fourth level was located.

A sword lay by the passage. Its quality was decent.

But Kolan couldn't be bothered to give it a second look. He'd be better off forging a divine artifact with Black Jade Stone.

The fourth level was a world of magic beasts, filled entirely with Saint-level magic beasts.

Saint-level Black Dragons, Saint-level Wind Dragons, Saint-level Thunder Dragons... Every kind of Saint-level dragon was here. There was even a Saint-level Tyrannosaurus.

There were Saint-level Purple-Striped Black Bears and Saint-level Purple-Eyed Golden-Haired Apes.

Kolan marveled at the sight. He had no idea what those Saint-level magic beasts had done to be locked up here by Beirut.

Now he was interested.

This place would let him hone his combat skills.

The battle erupted at once!

A Saint-level Wind Dragon spotted Kolan and lunged at him with its sharp claws.

A flash of swordlight, and the Wind Dragon was cleaved in two, crashing to the ground.

Kolan stored its corpse in his Space Ring and sealed its dragon soul inside a bottle.

Every part of a Saint-level magic beast was valuable. Its soul was valuable too, since it could be used to refine Soul Gold Beads.

Kolan couldn't bring himself to slaughter ordinary people, collect their souls, and refine them into Soul Gold Beads.

But that wasn't an issue here.

The more souls, the better.

The Saint-level Wind Dragon's roar alerted the other Saint-level magic beasts, and they came charging toward him like mad.

Kolan unleashed his abilities and began fighting the Saint-level magic beasts.

More and more arrived, but Kolan showed no sign of retreating.

The magic beasts couldn't break through his divine armor. No matter how many came, it was useless.

That day, Baruch arrived on the fourth level.

He stared in shock at Kolan, standing in midair above the corpses of countless Saint-level magic beasts.

Even Baruch would have had no choice but to run if he'd encountered so many Saint-level magic beasts.

Yet Kolan had slaughtered them all by himself.

Kolan glanced at Baruch with a smile, then stored all the magic beast corpses.

He had captured their souls as well.

"Kolan, with strength like yours, you're practically a god!" Baruch exclaimed as he came over.

"If you're not a god, you're still an ant! I've got a long way to go," Kolan said, waving a hand.

A god's might was like a prison. It was no joke.

The Divine Domain alone could immobilize Saint-level experts and leave them at a god's mercy!

"You got here pretty quickly. You're the first to reach the fourth level after me," Kolan said with a smile.

He was so close to the passage that he could sense anyone who entered.

In this era, aside from the Four Ultimate Warriors, the Yulan Continent actually had six Saint-level experts at the limits of their strength. Two of the High Priest's disciples were among them.

But none of those six had reached the passage to the fourth level yet.

Baruch's strength really was impressive.

"I'm nowhere near as strong as you. Now that I think about it, you must have cleared out the second level too," Baruch said.

Kolan smiled. "It was an undead world, controlled by an Undead Saint Magus. I didn't like him, so I killed him."

"Come on. There aren't any Saint-level magic beasts left here. Let's split up and search for the passage!" Kolan said.

"Sure," Baruch replied.

They split up and began searching for the passage to the fifth level.

Kolan searched carefully. After some effort, he finally found it.

He entered the passage and reached the fifth level. It was a world of rock, with stone everywhere.

He saw Baruch fighting a Rock Giant.

After transforming into a dragon, Baruch was covered in bluish-green dragon scales. A dragon horn jutted from his forehead, and a green dragon tail extended behind him.

The Rock Giant wielded an axe and stood five meters tall.

At last, Baruch's Warblade shattered the Rock Giant's head, killing it.

Kolan noticed that Baruch's Warblade was different from the one he'd used before.

It was probably a reward he'd picked up by the passage.